


Get Me Out Of Here

by tattooeddevil



Category: X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: M/M, Racism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-02
Updated: 2012-09-02
Packaged: 2017-11-13 09:42:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/502113
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tattooeddevil/pseuds/tattooeddevil
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mutant and proud doesn’t stand up in the face of Hank’s parents, but maybe young love does.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Get Me Out Of Here

“Hey, Professor?”

Charles swivels his chair to face the teenager responsible for interrupting his... well, staring out the window aimlessly. Not so much interrupting as it is saving him from his usual thoughts of gloom. He forces a smile on his face, it’s not Alex’s fault he’s staring down at the barrel of the gun called Depression.

“Hello Alex, what can I do for you?”

Alex’ smile falters a little at Charles’ obvious lack of enthusiasm, but his eyes go soft too. Charles almost sighs, he can’t deal with any pity right now, he has enough self-pity to last him a while, thanks. But then Alex shakes himself and gestures vaguely behind him.

“A Mr and Mrs McCoy are here. They want to see you.”

Charles can’t say he’s shocked to find Hank’s parents are here, it was only a matter of time really, but it still surprises him it only took them three months to give up the phone calls and come out to the school. He nods at Alex.

“Send them in, please. Could you do me a favor though? Find Hank and keep him company for a while?”

He sees the moment Alex makes the connection between the older man and woman waiting in the hallway and Hank. When he does, his face darkens and his eyes harden, and Charles rushes to calm him.

“Alex, please, don’t say anything to them. Just... Go distract Hank. Please?”

He can’t have Alex going off on the McCoys, they’re going to be fired up enough by themselves as it is. It’s three months since Hank decided to let his parents know where he was and what had happened. Three months since the phone calls from the McCoys to Charles had started. Three months since Norton McCoy first threatened Charles to come to the mansion and drag Hank home bodily if he had to. Charles had a good idea of what that would mean for Hank though and he kept the McCoys off as long as he could. It seems he couldn’t any longer.

He hears Alex’s tight voice as he instructs them to go in and it makes him smirk a little. They’ve become quite a tight-knit group over the past few months. Alex and Hank in particular. Off to a rocky start, mainly due to Alex’s snide remarks on Hank’s physique, but things changed since Cuba. Since Eric walked out on them, taking Raven with him. Mutant and proud is not what they felt at the time, but they were getting it back slowly. Hank drifted towards Alex and his brassiness, clinging to the young mutant’s confidence, trying to leech some of it off him. They’d become inseparable during the weeks following the stand-off on the island. Charles encouraged it; Hank could do with some self-confidence, no matter how borrowed.

Now though, as he watches the McCoys stiffly enter his office, he fears for Hank’s progress. He knows exactly why his parents are here, and Charles knows Hank won’t be able to let them down face to face. He straightens his back as best as he can and resolves not to let the McCoys get to him and persuade him. He smiles politely at Norton McCoy, who simply nods in greeting. His wife Edna doesn’t even meet his eyes, but simply sits herself down on the edge of the couch. Charles sighs silently; this is going to be tough.

“Welcome to the Academy, Mr and Mrs McCoy. I hope your journey here was pleasant? Can I get you some coffee or tea, maybe?”

He was raised well, after all.

Norton meets his eyes dead on and Charles resists the urge to flinch. He’s never had such hatred directed at him before. Norton sneers at him.

“Let’s drop the niceties and get on with what we’re here for. Where’s Hank?”

So much for polite, Charles thinks. He schools his face into something harder, before gesturing around him.

“Somewhere in the school, the lab probably.”

He doesn’t know if that’s true, but Hank’s out of sight of his parents and that’s all Charles cares for right now.

“Please get him here so we can take him home.”

Edna manages the tight words through pursed lips. Charles shakes his head at the woman sitting opposite him, her ramrod back stiff as a board. He can feel her fear, even without reading her mind, and for a second he softens. She’s just a scared mother wanting her son to come back home with them.

“I’m afraid I can’t do that, ma’am. Hank is currently working on a very important project and - ”

Norton stands suddenly and takes two large, angry paces in Charles’ direction. His face is red, a finger pointing at Charles accusingly.

“Now you listen to me, boy. Hank is my son and I will take him home if I so want to. You cannot keep him here.”

“I appreciate the concern about your son, Mr McCoy, but I am not keeping Hank against his will. He wants to be here and frankly, we all want him here too.”

It does nothing in calming Norton down; if possible, it riles him up even more. He practically yells his words in Charles’ face.

“No! You do not get to decide that! We are taking Hank home, now! We are his parents, we know what’s best for him and you are not it.”

Charles wheels his chair back a few inches, not wanting to appear threatening, but Norton just moves with him.

“I know what you do here, I know what you did to Hank!”

Anger starts prickling in the back of Charles’ neck. The McCoys blame him for Hank’s mutation?

“Well, you can rest assured I will not let this go on any longer. We are taking Hank home and we are suing your school and everyone associated with it.”

That gets to Charles more than anything. Hank is probably better off staying here, Charles knows where he’s from and can make an educated guess about what’s waiting for him back home, but suing the school? That would mean shutting it down and leaving all the students on the streets to fend for themselves. No, that’s not gonna happen. Any of it.

He rolls his chair forward angrily and Norton takes a startled step back. His voice is low and controlled when he speaks, his smile eerily polite.

“I appreciate your opinion on my school and my person, Mr McCoy, but I will not be talked to like this. You are forgetting you are on my grounds now, not your own. I will get Hank for you, because I have no intention of denying him a chance to see his parents, but I hope you will give Hank the opportunity to choose what he wants himself.”

He backs off and turns his back to the McCoys. He takes a few steadying breaths to calm himself down, before reaching out to Hank mentally. He ignores the McCoys behind him, he doesn’t need to be nice to people who threaten him or his work, no matter how his upbringing. He just hopes Hank is strong enough to deny his parents their wish.

********

“Hey, what you working on?”

Hank looks up from his test tubes to see Alex leaning against the door of his lab. He smiles briefly before turning his attention back to the experiment before him.

“Just trying to isolate a few DNA markers. I won’t bore you with the details.”

Alex grins lopsidedly and pushes himself off the door to reach Hank’s desk.

“You don’t bore me, I just don’t understand a single word of what you’re saying when you start yammering about your research.”

Hank laughs at his friend.

“Potato, potahto. What’s up?”

Alex peers over Hank’s shoulder at the array of test tubes and paper, before shrugging noncommittally.

“I was hoping you’d be my sparring partner, but if you’re busy…”

Alex trails off, but Hank knows exactly what he is going to say. Ever since Cuba, since losing Eric and Raven, Alex and him have been training together. Hank wanting, needing to control his new body and strength; Alex wanting to be stronger and spar with a bigger, tougher opponent. They balanced each other out, and not just in a simulated fight.

Hank hated Alex when they first met. Alex making fun of him, calling him names, being cool where Hank wasn’t. When Raven expressed some interest in him, he soaked it up and reveled in it. And Alex mocked it. Mocked them. But then Cuba happened. The experiment happened. And Hank changed. It was Alex who made him feel better about himself for the first time since he turned blue and furry. It was Alex that gave him his nickname. Beast. It was Alex that slowly, but surely, became his friend.

More than anything, Hank was drawn to Alex’s attitude. The carefree, I-don’t-care-what-you-think-of-me thing he has going on. He knows part of him envies Alex for being able to walk amongst humans and not immediately stand out as a mutant, unlike him, but he doesn’t resent Alex for it. He did this to himself, Alex is not at fault. All he wants is to keep Alex as a friend and pretend he’s just as cool.

Oh, he knows he’s valuable to the team and the professor. And no one ever made him feel left out or less than anyone else, but he can’t help but feel different. The professor, Alex, Sean, Eric, they are all able to blend in with humans. But not him. He is confined to the Academy and his lab, unable to find a cure or disguise, locked in-

“Hank?”

Alex’s hand waves in front of his face and he smacks it away a little too hard. Alex frowns at him.

“Are you alright?”

Hank sighs, no reasons to drag Alex down the depression pit with him. Maybe some fresh air and sparring will do him good.

“Yeah, fine. So, sparring?”

Alex looks at him as if he’s grown another head, but doesn’t call Hank out on his bullshit. Instead, he grins and backs up towards the door.

“Last one on the field is a loser!”

Hank quickly sheds his shoes and tears off after Alex. Hank knows Alex knows he can’t beat Hank, but he appreciates the attempt at making him feel normal. He catches up to Alex in just a few seconds and continues on to the field at the back of the mansion. Alex joins him moments later, out of breath, but laughing.

“You and your freaky feet, man!”

Hanks smirks with a wriggle of his toes. Freaky, yes, but he beats Alex with them every single time.

“You’re just jealous.”

Alex nods with a smirk.

“I am. Now, sparring?”

They both lift their hands and widen their stance, ready for defense or approach. Hank makes a grab for Alex, but Alex sidesteps him, hooks a leg around one of Hanks’ and tips them both over. Alex lands on top, but Hank isn’t about to let him win that easily. Just as he is about to reach for Alex’ shoulder, the professor rings in his head.

_Hank, Alex, could you come to my office? As soon as you can, please._

Alex lets go of Hank and gets to his feet, holding out a hand to pull Hank up too. He knows exactly why they’ve been asked to come to the professor’s office, but it’s not his place to tell Hank. But Hank looks concerned, nervous, as if he’s being called to the principal for doing something wrong. He rushes to try and assure Hank it’s fine.

“Don’t worry, man, I’m sure it’s nothing serious.”

Hank looks doubtful.

“It sounded serious enough.”

Alex sighs, he wants to tell Hank badly, prepare him for what’s to come, but he knows he can’t. If the professor didn’t want to tell Hank, then why should he? He just wants to warn his friend, ease him into meeting his parents again after their threats to come out and take Hank home. He knows Hank doesn’t want to leave, but he’s pretty sure he can’t say no to his parents’ faces either.

“Whatever, come on, let’s go.”

Hank frowns at Alex’s angry dismissal, but follows him back to the mansion without a word. He worries what the professor wants to see him for, and he has a feeling Alex is hiding something from him. What is going on?

********

The first thing Hank sees after he opens the door to the professor’s office is his father’s disapproving face. He stops halfway to entering and just stares for a second. His parents are here. Here, at the mansion. He knew they were angry and displeased with what had happened in Cuba and to him personally, but he never thought they’d make the journey up here in person. It was more their style to send letters dripping with disappointment, working his guilt. But now, now they are here.

When Alex clears his throat softly, he startles and steps inside fully. He feels fingers pressing against his lower back and it helps him clear his mind a little. He is not alone, he’s got Alex and the professor and his willpower. Whatever that last one is worth. Three heads turn his way, his first impulse is to look down at his feet and shrink back. Instead, he forces himself to look his father and mother in the eye when he greets them. Mutant and proud, right?

“Dad. Mom. Hi.”

His greetings startles his mother out of her shocked staring and she hurriedly takes a step back, away from him and closer to his father. He wants to cry, it hurts so bad to see her do that. Tears sluggishly start falling down her cheeks and her hands shake so bad she fumbles trying to get her handkerchief from her purse. His father sidles up next to his wife and straightens his back. His eyes are cold when they meet Hank’s and Hank winces slightly. He doesn’t know why he expected anything else.

The silence is awkward and Hank’s not sure what else to say or do. He glances at the professor from the corner of his eye, but he’s not looking at Hank. The professor is looking at Hank’s parents with a thoughtful, almost resentful look on his face. It makes him wonder what happened before he got here. Knowing his parents, it can’t have been very pleasant.

When he looks back at his mother and father, his mother has dried her tears and regained her composure. Her eyes jump between Hank and the wall behind him, as if she’s scared to look at him properly. He realizes she probably is. Mutation is fine as long as he can blend in with normal people. Now that he’s blue and furry, he’s a freak.

He can taste the hurt in the back of his throat, anger overlapping. Foolishly, deep down he always thought his parents would love him always, as he is. That’s what parents are supposed to do, so why can’t his mother and father be like that? Why do their faces show repulsion, fear and shock? Disappointment, disapproval and disgust.

The professor is the one to break the awkward stand-off. He clears his throat and wheels his way past Hank and his parents, to the door. He stops next to Alex and gestures to the hallway with his head.

“We’ll leave you to it then. We’re right outside if you need anything.”

Hank nods and tries for a small, grateful smile. He misses by a mile if Alex’s expression is anything to go by, but he can’t really fix that right now. Not when his parents are here, planning to take him home. Not when he’s never been able to say no to his parents and is going to disappoint Alex and the professor and everyone else soon. It’s inevitable.

He watches Alex and the professor leave before turning to his parents. His mother is not quick enough to hide the sneer on her face when he looks at her and he sighs inwardly. This is going to suck.

******

Charles issues Alex out into the hallway.

“Let’s give them some time alone, come on.”

Alex flops down on the wooden bench opposite the door with a frustrated sigh.

“He’s gonna leave, isn’t he?”

“I don’t know, Alex. His parents want him to come back home with them, but you know Hank likes it here. Maybe he’ll decide to stay.”

Alex snorts disbelieving.

“Yeah right. This sucks, professor, I like Hank.”

“I know, we all like him. But we have to let him make his own decisions. And they are his parents.”

“Yeah, but what does he have back home? Does he have the lab he has here? Does he have friends like us? Does he have training facilities? Why would he go home when he’s got all of that right here?”

Charles sighs. Alex makes a good argument, on top of what Charles suspects is waiting for Hank at home with his parents. But he can’t do anything about that. He can’t tell Alex and he can’t confront the McCoys. All he can do right now is be there for Hank and Alex and not influence either boy. It would be so easy to link with Hank mentally and persuade him to stay, but he won’t. He can’t. It wouldn’t be fair to Hank.

Raised voices drag him from his thoughts right before the door to his office opens and Hank storms out, past Alex and Charles, leaving them to stare at the McCoys. A satisfied smile features on Edna’s face.

“Hank is coming home with us.”

********

He throws the bag on his bed and starts pulling shirts from his closet. He doesn’t look which ones he takes, just stuffs them in the suitcase. He doesn’t want to go, leave, but he can’t say no to his parents, he never could. His mother’s shocked, tearstained face pops up in his mind’s eye every time he so much as thinks of not going home with his parents. Guilt is a tricky thing and his mother is not above using it against him to get her will.

_”What did they do to you?”_

With all his shirts in the suitcase, he moves on to pants. His father’s words echo in his head as he pushes the pants in the suitcase without looking. _”He’s a freak now, yes, but he won’t be for long.”_ Freak. Maybe he is.

Socks get thrown in. He tries to pair them together, but the tears rising in his eyes make it difficult to see. Unpaired then, like he is and always will be. _”You’ll get better, and then we’ll find you a nice normal girl to marry and have normal children with.”_ Normal children, yes mother, of course. I’ll get right on it. He swallows back the tears angrily.

Underwear is next and then he’s done. Just his toiletries from the bathroom and he is good to go. Go back home, back to the tiny, tiny little town his parents still live in. A safe town, no mutants for miles, just corn and football. Maybe he can be the team mascot, he doesn’t even need a suit, he comes with one. He snorts sarcastically and walks to the bathroom adjoining his bedroom. He randomly picks things off the small shelves and throws them in the direction of his bed. A few miss and fall to the ground, but he can’t care.

_”Don’t worry, we can fix this, fix you.”_

He knows full well what is waiting for him back home. Not a single word will be said outright about his mutation, or his ‘condition’ as his father put it. Instead, subtle digs will pepper every conversation between them and with strangers. He’ll stay in the house at all times, under pretense of his own will but really his parents won’t let him leave. You’ll scare the nice people of this neighborhood.

Not to mention the lengths his mother will go to, to ‘fix’ him.

He shudders just thinking about it. All he can do is hope it doesn’t come to that. Maybe they’ll see the error of their ways once he’s back and they’ll see he really doesn’t belong there. Maybe cows can fly and mice will take over the world.

_”This isn’t who God intended you to be.”_

He moves back to the bed and sits down next his opened suitcase. Burying his head in his hands, he shoots one last wish up that miraculously his parents will change their minds and realize he is happy here. That they’ll let him stay and stop making him feel like a bad person for leaving his friends, his mentor, his life. The anger drains from his body with one last sigh. It’s not his parents’ fault, it’s all his own and he needs to deal with the consequences.

_”We just want to get our son back, not this thing you’ve become.”_

He forces himself to straighten up and continue packing his bag; game face on and self pity ignored. It is then that Alex storms in with a huff and a slam of the bedroom door.

“You’re an asshole, you know that?”

Hands balled into fists at his side, Alex looks angry and hurt and sad all at the same time. Hank immediately feels like an asshole too.

“I know. But I have to, Alex. It’s not their fault I’m a freak. They just want what’s best for me.”

And if he tells himself that enough, he might even start to believe it.

“Bullshit.”

It’s not funny, but it startles a laugh out of Hank all the same. Somehow Alex’s anger and hurt calm something inside of him down. He realizes he was afraid that on top of everything, no one here wanted him to stay, no one would miss him, there was nothing here to stay for. At the same time he knows it makes it even more difficult to leave, but right now, here with Alex, he feels a little bit better about himself.

_”You are not yourself here, this is an unnatural place for you to be. Everything will be better back home.”_

“You knew my parents were here, didn’t you?”

Alex looks away with a nod, deflating with a huff.

“I let them in.”

Hank nods, unsure of what to say more. He told Alex bits and pieces about his parents, but he never opened up completely. Deep down he always hoped it would be different since he saved the world and all, that maybe they would see their son wasn’t a freak of nature. Besides, he didn’t want to be an even bigger freak with the bigoted parents.

_”These so-called people can’t help you like we can.”_

“I’m sorry.”

Hank shakes his head, dismissing Alex’s apology.

“Don’t be. I know why you didn’t say anything, and it was only a matter of time before they came down here anyway.”

Hank leaves his suitcase for what it is and sits down on the side of his bed. Alex makes a move to sit down next to him, but frowns at the half-packed suitcase instead, hurt flashing in his eyes. It takes Hank a few moments to catch on, but when he does he shoves the suitcase off the bed to make room for Alex to sit down and maybe forget about packing for a little while. Alex bumps their shoulders together when he does, thigh pressed against Hank’s.

“We’re gonna miss you, you know. I’m gonna miss you.”

It’s the earnest way he says it that has Hank choke up. He considers brushing Alex off, closing the door on their friendship before it gets too hard to say goodbye, but he really needs a friend right now. He needs someone to know what will happen, someone he could reach out to if it ever became too much to bear. He takes a few deep breaths before turning to Alex and blurting out everything.

“My parents hate me. Always have. My dad used to lock me in the basement so that people wouldn’t see my freakish body. My mother hasn’t touched me since I was three and started showing signs of mutation. They sent me to different laboratories and hospitals to find a cure for me. I never got to play outside or got to celebrate my birthday. They never took me with them on family trips. They have no pictures of me up in the house, said they would scare off visitors. I had to eat in my room when we had people over. I heard my father once say he didn’t have a son, what was our neighbor talking about? They would lock the door and window in my room so I wouldn’t get out. When I was older and started to ask questions, they had me sent to a camp. Like a gay-camp, but for mutants. The people there were convinced mutation was something you could repress and ignore and then it would go away. They made us watch movies about mutants, what freaks they were and how we should be ashamed of ourselves for being one. I graduated university when I was seventeen, because all I could do was study. I didn’t get to go to graduation, my parents had my diploma sent to the house. I-”

With an audible click, he clenches his jaws shut, unable to go on. He’s said enough already. Enough to scare Alex off, enough to really throw everything away he has left. Afraid to look at Alex - he doesn’t want to see more disgust aimed at him - he watches his hands. His freakishly big, blue hands.

“You’re fucking kidding me, right?”

Alex’s voice is angry, but Hank can feel it is not aimed at him, it is for him. He shrugs, not wanting to make it a big deal, but if Alex jumping off the bed and pacing angrily in front of him is anything to go by, he missed by a mile.

“Your parents are idiots! They’re bigoted, idiotic, cruel people to do that to you!”

He shakes his head, automatic defense of his parents so ingrained he doesn’t even realize he’s doing it until Alex calls him out on it.

“Don’t shake your head, Hank, don’t deny it! You know they treat you like shit! Seriously? They basically hid you away from the world, pretended you didn’t exist! That’s a shitty thing to do and you know it!”

He’s honestly lost for words. He’s astonished Alex feels so strongly about his situation, a little scared at the intensity of Alex’s words and deep down he’s a lot smug. His parents always said he’d never have friends and now look at him. He’s got a best friend, one that gets angry for him when he can’t, one that says he will miss him if he leaves. It brings a small smile to his face, which in turn stops Alex pacing.

“What’s so funny?”

He shakes his head and finally looks up at Alex, smile growing bigger, the heavy feeling in his gut lifting a little. Alex raises an eyebrow defiantly, his silent expression of ‘tell me now or suffer’. Hank chuckles.

“It’s nothing. Just... Thank you.”

Alex deflates at that, the anger leaving his body in a long breath of air. He looks at Hank sadly and it’s like a punch to Hank’s gut.

“I just... You don’t deserve to be treated like crap, man. And your parents... I’m sorry, I thought they were awful even before I knew the whole truth! You didn’t do anything to make them hate you like that, okay?”

All he can do is nod, really, because what do you say to that? Alex doesn’t wait for a reply though. He sits back down on the bed next to Hank and turns to face him.

“You’re a great guy, Hank, and your parents should love you for who you are. Not what you are. I mean, apart from being smart and strong and fast and-”

Alex cuts himself off, a deep blush spreading from his cheeks to his ears down to his neck. Hank doesn’t know what it means, but Alex seems uncomfortable. He tries to come up with something to lift the sudden, awkward silence, but he’s still just as lost for words as he was moments ago. Alex seems reluctant to keep talking and Hank goes back to watching his hands.

It is silent for a long time and Hank startles when a smaller, pale hand settles over his. He feels Alex shift a little closer and squeeze his hand to get his attention. When he looks up, Alex quickly leans in and presses his lips to Hanks. It is over as fast as it happened and Hank touches his lips with his fingers. He stares at Alex, who stares back at him with wide, scared eyes, hesitancy swimming deep inside. Hank watches as still neither of them says anything, until something in Alex’s eyes snaps and a resolution is apparently made.

Alex leans in again and Hank is surprised to find himself leaning towards Alex to meet him in the middle. He never thought about wanting this from Alex, but there they are. Lips locked in a soft, hesitant kiss, Alex’s hand still clutching Hank’s, Hank’s heart thundering in his chest. Alex pulls back a few inches to search Hank’s face, uncertainty in his eyes again and that just won’t do. If Alex is brave enough to take the first step, Hank is brave enough to take the second.

He presses his lips to Alex’s again and lets his tongue sneak out for a brief taste. He can feel Alex’s surprise travel through his body and if he weren’t busy kissing Alex, he would have smirked. Instead, he licks Alex’s lips again and again until they open to him and he can slide his tongue inside. Their tongues meet and something inside of Hank slots into place. He never knew he wanted this, but now that he’s had it, he knows he needs it.

Alex pulls back and stares at Hank again, but this time there’s no fear in his eyes, just surprise and maybe a little bit of arousal. Hank smirks, it’s nice to be the one to shut Alex up for a change.

“Don’t go.”

Alex looks as if he didn’t want the words to slip out like that, but they did and now he can’t seem to stop.

“Don’t leave, okay? Stay here, don’t go with your parents. Just... Don’t go.”

Hank’s smile fades more with every word that comes out of Alex’s mouth. He knows he can’t stay, he knows he has to go, he can’t let his parents down. He wishes more than anything that he could, that he had the strength to refuse his parents their wish, but he can’t.

“I know you want to please your parents, I do, and I understand. But Hank, they treat you like crap, they’re guilt-tripping you into this and it’s wrong! Don’t you see that?”

He opens his mouth to say something, anything to stop Alex from making him feel even worse about himself, but Alex interrupts him.

“I know, I know! But you can’t blame me for trying! I don’t wanna make you feel like the bad guy here, but I don’t want you to go.”

Hank looks away from Alex, unable to look at his friend - maybe more? - without breaking down in tears. He shakes his head slowly.

“I can’t, Alex. I want to, but I can’t. They’re my parents, you should have seen my mother- ”

He cuts himself off, not wanting to make Alex feel bad for asking Hank to stay. It’s not Alex’s fault, he’d probably do the same, especially after that kiss and what it could lead to. He snorts.

“My mother is gonna love this. Mutant, blue and furry, with a crush on another boy.”

He doesn’t get the chance to blush at admitting his crush, because that’s what it is really, before Alex wraps his hands around Hank’s face and forces him to look at Alex. His eyes are sincere and filled with strength.

“Just remember what you have, okay? Friends, a place to go when everything goes sour. And me. I’ll be here when you come back. Not if, when. Just don’t forget me, okay?”

“I won’t.”

The whispered reply is met with a soft kiss and Alex’s retreating form. He closes the door behind him without a single glance backwards and leaves Hank sitting on his bed alone. But not alone too. Not anymore.

********

Edna watches Charles grow smaller and smaller as the car drives away from the mansion. She turns a satisfied smile at Hank.

“Everything will be alright honey, we’re gonna take real good care of you. We’ll have you fixed in no time at all.”

She’s already planning who to call and when to drop Hank off when they get home. She doesn’t know Hank doesn’t plan on doing anything she wants him to do. Not anymore.


End file.
